


Teach Me

by nerdlife4eva



Series: Ice and Fire [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Competition, Developing Friendships, Fluff and Humor, Gaming, Long-Distance Friendship, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Skype, Teasing, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 07:39:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12316719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdlife4eva/pseuds/nerdlife4eva
Summary: Every time they Skype, these two learn something new about each other :) Another one-shot in the series of Yuri's and Otabek's development :)





	Teach Me

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to send me a prompt, please come find me on Tumblr! [N3rdlif343va](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/n3rdlif343va)

They had been on the phone for exactly one hour and thirty nine minutes when their conversation finally started to wind down from a frenzied pace. Between practice schedules and time zone issues, their communications had been limited to sporadic texts and social media interactions, leaving both of them feeling neglected. When Otabek had been the first to mention this feeling, Yuri had jumped on the chance to suggest a scheduled Skype call, both of them opting to spend their Friday nights in the confines of their individual rooms in order to finally catch up. 

The first few minutes had been a hilarious stumbling of the joint need to say everything in their minds as soon as they saw each other’s faces. They had each started sentences, speaking over top of each other, and then dissolving into a comical spat of who should go first. In the end Yuri had won, clamping a hand over his mouth and refusing to speak until Otabek finished his story. 

Now, after rapid speech subsided and a few appearances by Potya in the camera field, they had settled to a comfortable rhythm, discussing whatever random thoughts crossed their minds. 

Otabek sat back against his headboard watching Yuri brush his hair on the other end of the call. His friend was chattering away about a new hair conditioner when a screeching alert startled Otabek. Pulling the phone closer to his chest, Otabek raised an eyebrow into the screen as Yuri cursed into his own. “What was that?” he asked, studying Yuri’s face as he stood and started moving across his room in St. Petersburg. 

“Ugh,” was Yuri’s only response as he slammed into his computer chair. 

“Enlightening,” Otabek quipped, the side of his mouth twitching into a smirk as Yuri snorted. 

“It’s nothing,” Yuri’s eyes were focused on a point beyond his telephone screen and Otabek continued to watch him with interest. “I forgot I was supposed to play Rocket League tonight, but it looks like one of the team members isn’t here anyway, so I don’t know why it is an issue.” 

Clicking could be heard as Yuri set his phone down with the camera still pointing to his face. Sitting up, Otabek glanced to his own computer and shrugged. “I’ll play. That is… if you teach me how to play.” He watched as Yuri’s gaze returned to his own. 

“I mean, sure…” Yuri sounded hesitant as he chewed on his bottom lip. “But you have to have a computer that can handle it.” 

Raising an eyebrow in Yuri’s direction, Otabek lifted his phone and aimed it at his desk in the corner of the room. Hitting the button to flip the camera, he heard Yuri’s confused gasp as Otabek’s computer set up came into view. 

He had three monitors spread over the L-shaped desk and his tower was a beast of plastic with blue lights glowing from within. On the corner was his digital mixing table and his mic, keyboard, and mouse all sat under the middle monitor, which also had his headphones hooked over the top left corner. Stacks of CDs and USB drives sat in a black plastic organizer to the right of the desk and the rest of his DJing equipment was stacked on the ground under a poster of the Barcelona GPF finalists. He had bought the poster because he and Yuri appeared on it together, but he would never tell his best friend that. Listening to Yuri sputter, Otabek chuckled and flipped the camera around as he stood to move to his own desk. 

“You’ve been holding out on me!” Yuri complained, his surly face set in a playful scowl. “Controller?” he inquired, still appearing as if he was ready to fire of rampant rounds of indignation at any moment. Lifting a black controller from its hook under the desk, Otabek flashed it in front of his phone. Scoffing, Yuri shook his head, currently too stunned to make a snide remark. “Steam account?” 

Flushing red, Otabek averted his eyes. It had been a handle that his sister had come up with as a joke, but Otabek had kept it since he wasn’t as creative on his own. Hearing Yuri ask again, Otabek stared at his computer screen, muttering “DJOtaBear” under his breath. 

“No way,” Yuri laughed, slapping a hand to his forehead, “you are such a nerd!” He was still laughing as he typed out the friend request on his own Steam account. 

“Right, I’m the nerd,” Otabek snickered, hitting accept on his new request, “is your name really IceTigerClaws????” He couldn’t help his own laughter as he searched for the game. Looking at the description, he missed Yuri’s response. “What even is this?” The game concept looked similar to soccer, except… 

“It’s like soccer but the ball is huge, you are in a cage, and you’re a race car.” Yuri snickered as Otabek stared at him with furrowed brows. “Trust me it’s awesome, you’ll see.” 

Forty-five minutes later, Otabek had spent more time than anyone else ever (according to Yuri) on the ceiling with his race car and had heard Yuri use the most colorful language crafted into cleverly brutal insults, but he also had to admit that the bizarre game was actually fun. With a final smashing of an unsuspecting opposing team, Yuri declared it a successful night and they signed off to continue talking. 

“Do you normally play games online?” Yuri was settled back on his bed again, curiously considering Otabek. “You weren’t bad, but you have a good set up for someone who seems to be a noob.” 

“I don’t play a lot, but…” Otabek trailed off. He had almost told Yuri exactly what game he normally played online, and wished he had stopped his sentence before the “but” had slipped out. 

“What are you not telling me?” Leaning forward so his face was extremely close to the screen, it was Yuri’s turn to raise his eyebrow at Otabek. 

“I play pinochle with my grandparents.” The revelation was quiet, Otabek staring down at his socks instead of into the phone as his cheeks burned red again. 

“What is that?” Yuri sat back again, running a hand through his hair. His interest sounded genuine, so Otabek decided to continue. 

“It’s a card game. Four players, two teams, they are always on a team together and I play with a random person or the computer. They kick my butt every time.” Otabek still couldn’t bring himself to look at his phone screen, scared about the teasing that was about to occur. 

“Screw that!” Yuri barked, his voice a little too loud for the late hour. “Teach me how to play! I’ll be your partner. We’ll kick their asses!” He pumped a fist into the air with the last statement. 

“You want to help me kick my grandparents’ asses in pinochle?” Unsure that he had heard Yuri correctly, Otabek spoke each word with a slight pause between them. 

“Yup, but we have to practice,” Yuri was talking as he moved again, and Otabek realized that his best friend had moved back to the computer. “Come on and send me the link!” His tone was eager as Otabek chuckled. 

Locating the link to the online card site, Otabek sent it over to Yuri and settled down to teach his best friend how to play the game. Biting back his smile, Otabek again found himself incredibly happy that his best friend was the most ridiculous, competitive, and wonderful human he had ever known. 


End file.
